Fly on the Wall

Are Memphis police officers arresting children and throwing them in jail where they are flashed by perverts? Or could it be that English is just a tricky language that sometimes bites even its finest practitioners in the tushie? Probably the latter.

Either way, a headline on My Eyewitness News' website reads: "Man Accused of Exposing Genitals to Children Arrested in Memphis."

According to the arresting officer, the accused flasher, appropriately named Trent Stark, literally was caught with his pants down.

Bugging Out

Harry the Praying Mantis, a bug that made headlines when he was transported from Memphis to New Orleans for the grand opening of the expansive Audubon Insectarium, is on the road again. Terminex — a company famous for gassing icky six-legged critters — is sponsoring a four-city educational tour called Harry's Big Adventure, giving visitors "a chance to see, touch, and even taste a variety of bugs." According to a press release, guests also will compete in cockroach races and (gulp) cricket spitting contests. Alas, Harry won't be returning to his Bluff City home. Memphians who want to eat bugs or spit crickets will have to drive to Little Rock.

Speechless

Twenty-year-old Daniel Cowart and 18-year-old Paul Schlesselman may be going away for a long time. The Mid-South skinheads were arrested after devising an elaborate and bizarre plan to assassinate presidential candidate Barack Obama and to kill or decapitate 102 additional black people. Cowart and Schlesselman's plan to kill Obama involved stealing a .308-caliber rifle from a gun shop, dressing up in white tuxedoes and top hats, and firing at the presidential candidate from the windows of their car while driving very fast. According to reports, the would-be assassins didn't actually think they would be successful, a fact that might eventually rule out an insanity plea.